Welcome to 2018! I don’t know how 2017 was for you, but I think it’s safe to assume that the coming year will bring even more social change and political madness -- so let’s take a moment to pause and brace ourselves in anticipation of the coming mess.

But for all that we must remember that the future belongs to Christ, and as much as we are in Christ the future belongs to us, too. All these seismic shakeups in the foundations of how the world works are opening cracks, little opportunities for God’s light to shine in. Even apparently negative changes can bring positive backlash, as we have seen!

In Ephesians, Paul reminds us that as carriers of God’s light our example can shape how even the most aloof and powerful people behave. He talks about how the church, by uniting Jew and Greek, (people that hated, misunderstood, and even killed one another) makes known “the wisdom of God in its rich variety” to “the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.”

Our job is to make peace with our personal, tribal, and national enemies. God will make sure that our example gets noticed by those in power. So as we consider 2018 and all that may happen in the next twelve months, let’s not forget the part we have to play; to find someone we fear or disagree with, and turn them into a friend, calling them to be fellow heirs of the Kingdom through Christ’s love.

My heartfelt blessings go out to you all, that this year be easy and inspiring,Andrew